A neighborhood is renewed

Published: Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 10:57 PM.

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“I am so grateful to Stephen for taking the bold steps that he has and for the young people that he has been able to place in the homes,” Clarkstated. “To have someone with an appreciation for history and the arts is fantastic.”

Hill predicts a variety of artists will be living in the houses, including painters, musicians, even a glass blower. Lindley said several of the artists are also employees of Mother Earth, and they will have the opportunity to walk to work.

The rehabilitation project began in February, and Lindley — who is serving as project manager — expected it to be finished by the end of the year. He said three should be ready to be occupied within two weeks.

Several of the homes had been abandoned.

“You could make a case for them being condemned and torn down,” Lindley said.

Hill said the roof on one house had to be completely replaced. Workers discovered this when they began pulling off shingles. “We don’t know what was holding the roof together,” Hill said. “It was rotten through.”

He also said eight workers have been hired for the rehabilitation work.

You can’t miss these houses along West Blount Street. Sure, they’re painted bright colors, but more noticeably they are undergoing earnest renovation in an area where dilapidation is the dominant décor. Kinstonbusiness leaders Stephen Hill and Stuart Lindley purchased five houses on West Blount, just a few blocks from downtown and on the doorstep of the Mitchelltown Historic District, in order to rehab them and spur the creation of a district where artists can live, work and sell their wares. They’re just weeks from completing the project.

Drive along West Blount Street, and you’ll see one dilapidated house after another, but as you come toward the intersection with College Street, be on the lookout for at least three brightly-painted red, green and yellow houses.

Those houses — and two others — are the seeds of what Kinston business leaders Stephen Hill and Stuart Lindley hope will become a thriving arts district in downtown Kinston.

Hill, the co-founder of Mother Earth Brewing, and Lindley, president of Discovery Insurance, which is owned by Hill, purchased five houses in the block of West Blountbetween Mitchell and College streets earlier this year to revitalize them and make them habitable for artists.

“They can live in their home; they can work out of their home,” Hill said of the artists. “People can go into that neighborhood and buy their wares right there.”

The houses are about three blocks west of the Kinston Community Council for the Arts at West Blountand Queen streets, and two to three blocks west of the brewery at Herritage and West North streets.

Hill said the colors are inspired by color themes on various brands of Mother Earth beer.

“Those colors are vibrant and bold, and they look artsy,” he said.

“I can’t stress enough the important of the arts to this area,” said Hill, who serves on the N.C. Arts Council. “Our Arts Council here does a tremendous job with all types of art and they’re well known all across the state for the work that they do.”

He said he had traveled throughout the state, and seen how arts districts had “changed the face” of other communities.

The homes are considered historic properties and are on the edge of the Mitchelltown Historic District. One is in the district.

Rose Clark, president of the Mitchelltown Preservation Society, said the Blount Streetproject “ties in very well” with community efforts to improve Kinston’s neighborhoods and promote the arts.

She stated there are grants available, and more private investment is needed, “and then we will see a district that will be talked about as a model for other communities.”

“I am so grateful to Stephen for taking the bold steps that he has and for the young people that he has been able to place in the homes,” Clarkstated. “To have someone with an appreciation for history and the arts is fantastic.”

Hill predicts a variety of artists will be living in the houses, including painters, musicians, even a glass blower. Lindley said several of the artists are also employees of Mother Earth, and they will have the opportunity to walk to work.

The rehabilitation project began in February, and Lindley — who is serving as project manager — expected it to be finished by the end of the year. He said three should be ready to be occupied within two weeks.

Several of the homes had been abandoned.

“You could make a case for them being condemned and torn down,” Lindley said.

Hill said the roof on one house had to be completely replaced. Workers discovered this when they began pulling off shingles. “We don’t know what was holding the roof together,” Hill said. “It was rotten through.”

He also said eight workers have been hired for the rehabilitation work.

Lindley explained that the idea to revitalize the block came from an initial desire by Hill to refurbish the historic house at 400 Mitchell St., at the intersection of Blount and Mitchell.

The home was purchased from the Historic Preservation Foundation of N.C. “When (Hill) acquired that house he saw potential on the rest of the street, filled with historic homes that could never be replaced,” Lindley recalled.

Hill, sitting in Mother Earth’s conference room, pointed to one of many paintings on the wall, a painting that showed a street filled with brightly-colored houses. That was how he envisioned Blount Street. “It’s an old neighborhood made new again,” he said.